Concern about the condition of a derelict hotel has led residents to call for urgent action by council officials.

Plans to redevelop the St David’s Hotel at Harlech and an adjoining former Coleg Harlech accommodation block were approved by planners several years ago but work has not yet started.

With permission about to lapse, residents were concerned to find some work had been carried out thereby securing indefinite planning consent.

The Harlech a’r Cylch group feared the work, to create a bat barn, will mean work may never be carried out to develop the site.

A spokeswoman said: “Since the developers acquired the hotel six years ago it has been neglected and allowed to fall into a ruinous and dilapidated condition which is a blight to residents and visitors.

“The buildings are now crumbling, have shattered windows, roofs and floors falling in, are overgrown and a dangerous eyesore.

“The planning permission for the redeveloping the site expired on July 17. Erecting a bat barn is deemed to be “a material start on the project” and this in turn means the application approved five years ago will now remain valid for ever.”

She said members were worried that the bat barn may be a stop gap measure to preserve the financial value of the land.

“Both the hotel and accommodation block are within the World Heritage Site Essential Setting of Harlech Castle; adjacent to a Conservation Area; and adjacent to a Site of Special Scientific Interest, a Special Area of Conservation and Listed Buildings.

“We are in the process of calling for support to ask Gwynedd Council to use its powers under the 1984 Building Act to reduce the blight on the local landscape and have the buildings demolished, even if the developers do not build the planned hotel.”

Planning approval for the scheme was granted by the Snowdonia National Park Authority in 2009.

A National Park Authority spokeswoman said: “Officers share the concerns of the Harlech a’r Cylch Residents Group regarding the state of disrepair of the current building. Due to the significant local and regional tourism and economic benefits of the project, the Authority has been very eager to see work on the new development commence. Unfortunately, the situation has intensified as the condition of the existing building has deteriorated significantly.

“Due to the presence of European protected bat species in the building, demolition would not have been legally possible until a structure was erected nearby to accommodate them.

“The developer has now erected a structure, and the planning permission has therefore not lapsed.

“If planning permission had lapsed, the likelihood of anything happening on the site in the immediate future would have been very low indeed. As it currently stands, there is now renewed optimism that the developer will demolish the building.”